1987 Newspaper Headlines
Authentic 1987 newspaper articles provide fascinating insight into what it was like to experience the events that characterised the year. Some of the most talked about 1987 headlines include the conviction of notorious Nazi fugitive Nikolaus Barbie for war crimes during World War II, the first appearance of “The Simpsons”, and Margaret Thatcher’s retention of her role as Prime Minister of Britain for the 3rd term in a row.
A 1987 newspaper is a wonderful gift idea for birthdays, anniversaries, or other special occasion. Reminisce about this remarkable year in history with an authentic newspaper, featuring first hand accounts and pictures as they appeared at the time.
20th January 1987
Terry Waite, the special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lebanon, is kidnapped in Beirut. He is eventually released in November 1991.
11th February 1987
British Airways is privatised and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
23rd February 1987
Supernova 1987A, the first “naked-eye” supernova since 1604, is observed.
6th March 1987
A cross-channel ferry capsizes outside the harbour off Zeebrugge in Belgium; 180 passengers drown.
19th April 1987
“The Simpsons” cartoon first appears on The Tracy Ullman Show.
28th May 1987
19 year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet air defences and lands a private plane on the Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained and subsequently released on 3rd August, 1988.
11th June 1987
Margaret Thatcher remains Prime Minister, winning the general election for the third time.
22nd June 1987
Fred Astaire, American actor and dancer (b. 1899) dies from pneumonia.
3rd July 1987
Greater Manchester Police recover the body of 16-year-old Pauline Reade from Saddleworth Moor, after killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley finally give information on her whereabouts. It is almost twenty-four years to the day since Pauline was last seen alive.
25th July 1987
The East Lancashire Railway, a heritage railway in the North West of England, is opened between Bury and Ramsbottom.
27th July 1987
Australian singer and former “Neighbours” actress Kylie Minogue releases her first hit, a remake of Little Eva’s “The Loco-Motion“.
19th August 1987
Hungerford Massacre: Michael Ryan kills sixteen people with an assault rifle before committing suicide.
15-16th October 1987
The Great Storm of 1987: Hurricane-force winds hit much of South England, killing twenty-three people.
19th October 1987
Black Monday: Stock market levels fall sharply on Wall Street and around the world.
23rd October 1987
Champion jockey Lester Piggott, holder of an OBE, is jailed for three years after being convicted of tax evasion.
8th November 1987
Eleven people are killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb at a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen.
18th November 1987
The King’s Cross fire on the London Underground kills thirty-one people.
1st December 1987
Construction of the Channel Tunnel is initiated.
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